Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Giles County (Va.) Declarations for Revolutionary War Pensions, 1819-1820. Local government records collection, Giles County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

These records came to the Library of Virginia in shipments of court papers from Giles County.

Historical Information

Giles County was named for William Branch Giles, United States senator from Virginia in 1806 when the county was created from Montgomery, Monroe (now in West Virginia), and Tazewell Counties. Several subsequent additions were made from Wythe (1808), Monroe in 1829 and Mercer in 1841 (both now in West Virginia), Craig (1880), and Tazewell (1826 and 1836) Counties. The county seat is Pearisburg.

Scope and Content

Giles County (Va.) Declarations for Revolutionary War Pensions, 1819-1820, include the petitions of Revolutionary War veterans to receive a pension under an act of Congress passed 1818 March 18. The applicant presented detailed testimony of his time of service during the Revolutionary War. Information found in declarations include date and location applicants entered into service, names of military companies they served in, names of military commanders they served under, names of fellow soldiers they served with, length of service, their age, and their place of birth. The predominant portion of the declarations are narratives of their tours of duty during the Revolutionary War with emphasis on battles they fought. The declarations also include affidavits from witnesses who could verify information provided by applicant.

Related Material

Additional Giles County records can be found on microfilm at The Library of Virginia web site. Consult "A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm" .

Index Terms

Corporate Names:

• Giles County (Va.) Circuit Court

Subjects:

• Military pensions -- Virginia -- Giles County
• Veterans -- Virginia -- Giles County

Geographical Names:

• Giles County -- History.
• United States -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783
• Virginia -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783

Genre and Form Terms:

• Affidavits -- Virginia -- Giles County
• Declarations -- Virginia -- Giles County
• Local government records -- Virginia -- Giles County

Adjunct Descriptive Data